Current weather

Colbert plant cutting production of veneer

Posted: Friday, October 05, 2007

Madison County's largest commercial employer will cut more than a third of its work force at the end of the month, and the layoffs will have far-reaching effects on the county's economic well-being, officials say.

The Weyerhaeuser Co., which operates the Colbert iLevel manufacturing plant on Georgia Highway 72, announced Monday that the company would lay off 70 of its 205 employees and permanently shut down its veneer production line in 30 days.

The veneer panels are used in a composite wood product called Parallam that Weyerhaeuser makes at the plant, formerly known as Trus Joist.

"It's going to impact (Madison County) quite a bit when you lay off 70 people; plus all the people who have been cutting and hauling logs in there will be eliminated, too," said Colbert Mayor John Waggoner. "I think the effect is going to be pretty bad."

A company spokesman acknowledged that closing the veneer production line will mean the Colbert plant no longer will use local logging companies to supply trees. The Colbert iLevel plant now will get its veneer material from another Weyerhaeuser facility or other sources, said Monte Simpson in Weyerhaeuser's Kennesaw office.

"The suppliers of trees will be impacted as well," Simpson said. "There will not be any green trees coming in there."

Simpson estimated that about 25 logging companies supplied trees to the Colbert operation.

"It's not just those 70 people, but so many other people in the industry providing the wood and more," Nash said. "It will affect the mechanics who work on the trucks; it will affect a lot of people."

Colbert businesses near the plant likely will feel the loss as well, Waggoner said.

Simpson attributed the job cuts to several factors, including a continued slowdown in new housing construction, which reduced demand for wood products. In addition, projections for future orders caused Weyerhaeuser executives to re-evaluate the company's production needs, Simpson said.

"The demand ... is decreasing, and the production of alternative products is increasing," he said.

"The layoffs are not a reflection of the associates' performance; the mill has performed very well," Simpson said. "Looking at the market forecast was the driver."

Weyerhaeuser, based in Federal Way, Wash., will pay the 70 Colbert plant workers for 60 days from the notice of termination under guidelines of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act, Simpson said.

"What we plan to do at the Colbert operation is run for 30 days then shut the veneer production line down," Simpson said. "Then (the laid-off workers) will get paid for another 30 days, which gives them time to look for another job."

The company contacted state Department of Labor officials and representatives from Athens Technical College about coming to the Colbert plant and conducting workshops for job training and job search options, Simpson said. In addition, Weyerhaeuser will offer support for job searches.

The upcoming layoffs represent the second time Weyerhaeuser has made cuts at its Colbert facility this year, Simpson said. The company eliminated 25 hourly jobs in January.

About a third of the most recent iLevel workers laid off are Madison County residents, with the rest living in surrounding counties, Simpson said.

The Colbert plant, which previously operated as Trus Joist MacMillan, was started in 1989. Weyerhaeuser acquired the facility in 1999.